Conference napalm::guitar

    
    Well, the first thing you want to do is get rid of the
    Bigsby ad go to a Gibson stop-tailpiece.  Not only will
    this increase sustain, it will ease string tension and
    make the guitar more playable.
    
    I would go to a repair shop for this.  There will be small holes
    left behind, and they can fill them in a way that they will be
    virtually unoticeable.
    
    The Bigsby, in my book, is virtually unusable.
    
    A Gibson guitar book should list the serial number and relevant
    info.
    
    Small favor:  Please don't type your notes in all capital letters.
    It makes it hard to read!
    
    What color is it?
    
    Brian
    
    

    Thanks for the info.
    I found out that it's a 1969 sg standard.  The color is brown but, you
    can see the grain.  
                         bye,  mjl

    Just found this old note and I could do with some help.
    I've had a guitar given to me on the weekend which sounds like this
    one; Brown looks like an SG, 6 digit serial no.
    	Thing is I think its a fake. Its got 2 P90's, a black scratch plate
    that isn't symetrical, it has 'made in USA' and the serial number on
    the back of the headstock, the bell shaped truss rod cover. It only
    says Gibson on the front of the headstock, and this inlay looks a bit
    ragged. Its got the 2 x volume, 2 x tone knobs but it has a small
    pointer on each knob to show you what each is set at.
    	I'm none too bothered if it is a fake but I would like to know if
    its a Gibson or not. It does have whats left of a trem on it but it
    doesnt really look like a Bygsby (it doesnt say Bigsby on it).
    	Anyone got any idea's as to its authenticity.
    Any help much appreciated, J. 

    
    What makes you suspect this is not a Gibson? Is the neck bolted on or is 
    it glued on like a real SG?  Are you expecting to see "Gibson" stamped on 
    the back of the headstock? Usually the back of the headstock  has "Made 
    in USA" and the serial number. P90's were used on SG Specials. It sounds 
    like that's what you got. Pick-guards changed a few times on SGs. The ones
    made in the late 60's had the big symmetrical design, but SG's from the 
    70's used a small gaurd below the treble side of the strings. The gaurd 
    should be multi-layer black/white/black. A lot of SG's came through with
    Gibson's own tremelo bar known as a "Vibrola". I don't think Gibson ever 
    put Bigsbys on SG's. A lot of people added them on.
    
	What do the fingerboard inlays look like?
    	Are the knobs black with white numbers?
    	Does the neck have a volute?
    	Is there an access cover on the back of the body?
    
	Bring the guitar to a repuatable dealer and see what they have to
    say. 
    
    	Mark

    	Cheers for the info Mark, the main reason I wasn't sure about this
    guitar is because it doesn't have the diamond shape logo on the front
    of the headstock.
    	It does have an access plate on the back of the body.
    	The Scratch plate is smaller on the bass string side, not the
    treble.
    	The 'vibrola' isn't complete and I'm wondering if it will be worth
    getting it repaired, someone has retro fitted a wrapover bridge but
    they have put it in the wrong place. They left the base plate of the
    original trem on and put the new bridge in front of it.
    	I'll have to try and get a picture of an original, if it is one, so
    that I can get it back to a playable state; I love the sound of deep
    dirty and nasty P90's and this one sound nasty.
    	J.

Sounds like you got an SG,,,  as far as fixing the bigbsy,
you'd probably want to 'restore' it to as close to original
as possible, don't replace it, or take it off if possible.

post the serial number here and we can look up the serial
number on Gibson's web site.

Not that the bigsby's are hot, but the more 'original' you can 
keep it/get it,, the better for resale.

    From the sounds of things, this is a late 60's SG special. The only
    SG with a split-diamond inlay is the SG Custom. SG Standards have
    a torch inlay on the headstock. I'm not sure what a Special has
    for an inlay. The student model is known as the Melody Maker. 
    These have one P90 pickup and no headstock inlay. 
    
    I own a 1975 SG Standard. Mine has the original (Schaller) TOM
    bridge and stop bar tailpiece. IMHO this is the best tailpiece
    for an SG. It provides the maximum sustain and stays in tune.
    A Bigsby or Gibson Vibrola will slip out of tune under agressive
    playing. If originality is important, you might want to find an
    original Gibson Vibrola bridge, but don't expect it to come cheap.
    
	Mark

    I feb the serial number through the Gibson search thingy and it says
    that it was made between 1970-72. The serial number is 961700.
    I'm none too bothered about the original trem, it's just that the new
    wrapover bridge that someone has retro fitted is in the wrong place and
    to rectify the whole thing I'm gonna have to remove this new bridge,
    remove whats left of the original trem, then put on another bridge in
    the correct position.
    	Thanks for all the info, got to get her up and running as a second
    guitar behind my Fernandes LP super grade (gold top with P90's).
    	It's the best thing any girlfriend's dad has ever given me, its
    usually a smack in the mouth.
    	J.

    
    I think you may be confusing the bridge and the tailpiece. Most
    Gibson electrics use the same TOM (tune-a-matic) bridge. What
    varies from one model to the next is the tailpiece. Bigsbys,
    Vibrolas, Stop-bars, etc. are all tailpieces. Placement varies
    from one tailpiece to the next but bridge placement is determined
    by neck scale length. So what you have is part of the original
    vibrola tailpiece with a stop-bar tailpiece jury-rigged over it.
    This should definately be reworked. Stop-bars sit against a pair
    of large studs that thread into the body. You should be able to
    crank the stop-bar down so it sits low for maximum string tension.
    This provides the maximum sustain. I wouldn't be too concerned
    about a couple of small unused holes from the original tailpiece.
    
    Mark 
    

    Without seeing the guitar it's hard to be sure, but on SG Specials
    and Firebird IIIs with the "short" Gibson vibrola the bridge is already
    mounted on stop-tailpiece style studs.  Is the wraparound bridge
    supported by two large screws that screw into threaded inserts in the
    body?  If so, that's probably stock.  The original bridge for that
    guitar would have been a ladder style (with hard preset ridges instead
    of the adjustable tune-a-matic saddles) that sat on those big studs.
    Substituting a wraparound bridge for the original is a standard mod
    on these; it improves the performance of the guitar.  If you really
    want to make it "original", you just have to find one of the ladder
    style bridges (not too $$$ actually; nobody really wants em).
    The guitar will have less sustain, but you will be able to use the
    whammy.
    
    Like I said, it's hard to say without seeing, but my guess is that your
    guitar is already pretty much original, the bridge is already in the
    right place, and I wouldn't plan on doing any major rework to it.
    
    /rick
    

    	Mark, what I've got is a wrap-over bridge without a stop tail-piece
    that seems to be positioned in the wrong place on the guitar.
    	
    	--------------------------- !!!    =====
    	--------------------------- !!!    =====
    	--------------------------- !!!    =====
    
            strings              wrap-over    vibrato 
                                  bridge      with no strings attached.
    
    
    	I think that the wrapover bridge has replaced a tuneomatic style
    bridge but has been positioned too far forward, ie too close to the
    neck. I'm only assuming this cos the string length on my LP is longer
    than on this SG.
    	The sketch is crap but I'm just tryin to show you whats happenin
    with the axe. I could be wrong about the positioning of the bridge but
    I don't think so.
    	I think what your saying is that I should add a stop tail-piece and
    a bridge to get the best sound. ??
    	J.

    Ignore the last entry, I think what Ricks saying is about right though
    I'm still not sure if the bridge is in the right place because of the
    string length, I'll check whether the posts are screwed into the body
    tonight.
    	If I do decide to keep the wrapover bridge, d'ya think I should
    remove the trem cos it does look abit strange with that redundant chunk
    of metal on it. HHhhhhhmmmmmm, original or useable??	
    	J.

    I once had a Firebird III with a wraparound (Badass) added.  I left the
    Vibrola mechanism in place cause I thought it looked cool.
    
    Sonny Landreth removed the vibrola on his Firebird III but left the
    three spacers and screws for the vibrola in place.
    

hey if you got it to use it, make it like you want...
Some folks are articulate about 'stock' condition,
and any mods, wether or not for the bettering of
the sound or playability will take away asthetic
value.  For example, if I change the pickups on
my sheraton, make it sound 'better' with better pickups,
I devalue the actual resale becuse it's no longer
stock...


But if this a guitar you're going to use, then make
it useable...